Seventeen-year-old Margaret Smith, the youngest player ever to win the Australian women's tennis championship, and conqueror of Maria Bueno, is a shy girl without a single gimmick, and almost too young to have a personality. She has one interest, tennis and one ambition, to travel.

Her outstanding talent (ex-Davis Cup player Adrian Quist considers that at her age she is the best woman tennis player he has ever seen) should take her around the world - but not immediately. It is unlikely that she will be at Wimbledon this year but pretty certain that she will head the women's team which Australia will send to Europe next year.

Margaret Smith is five foot eight, a slim girl with a mannish figure, light brown hair and fair skin. Her parents, who are of modest means, live at the inland town of Albury on the New South Wales-Victorian border, and it was there four years ago that Margaret was spotted as a potential champion by a NSW Lawn Tennis Association coaching squad. These squads comb Sydney's suburbs and country centres constantly, watching for promising youngsters and generally encouraging a high standard of social and competitive tennis.

First Keith Rogers, a professional tennis coach in Melbourne and then Frank Sedgman, former Wimbledon champion and Davis Cup player, followed up hints by the L.T.A.A. that Albury had 'a girl wonder'. They persuaded her parents to send her to Melbourne where Sedgman employed her as a receptionist at his squash courts and gymnasium, and Rodgers made her his star pupil.

Blessed with a strong constitution, and spurred by an unusually single-minded ambition, Margaret readily co-operated in the spartan training programme mapped out for her by Rodgers and Sedgman. Up at dawn, she trains in the gymnasium, breakfasts and attends to office matters before a light lunch. Then she practises for an hour or so before more office duties.

Her social life is just as rigorously controlled with no late parties, no alcohol, no smoking and six early nights a week. Sedgman says: 'She's the easiest sportswoman I ever trained. She works in the gymnasium as hard as any rugby league footballer and can do many exercises better than I can.'

But despite Margaret's success this week Sedgman insists that she is not ready for an overseas tour. 'It would be better for her, and for Australian tennis, if she remained here this year,' he said. 'She has all the shots but I would like to build up her speed and stamina. She will be ready to travel next year.'

Margaret herself says very little. She considers her forehand needs improvement and her powerful service tightening. She feels that she should score more frequently with her first service. 'Everyone is so kind I don't want to let them down when I go overseas,' she said. 'I want Mr Sedgman and Mr Rodgers to be satisfied with my game before any decision is made.'

Other likely members of the Australian women's team which will visit Europe next year are Lesley Turner, 17, of Sydney, who surprisingly beat Margaret in the junior championship final, Jan Lehane and Mrs Mary Reitano (formerly Mary Carter).

It was Miss Lehane who put Christine Truman, the favourite, out of the semi-final at Brisbane. And she did so by fighting back characteristically when her opponent led 4-3 with her service to follow in the final set. True, Miss Truman suffered severely from cramp and dizziness, but Miss Lehane was herself brought near exhaustion by the steamy heat.

With Mary Reitano, last year's title-holder, and Val Wicks, Queensland champion, the Smith-Lehane-Turner trio combine to make as strong a women's team as Australia has produced since the Nancy Bolton-Thelma Long era before the last war. They are all straight tennis players devoid of mannerisms, who play a faster, harder game than the women used to do. But they still wisely stop short of the 'power' game that is wrecking men's tennis as a spectacle. Such experts as Quist and Sedgman say they will be unbeatable overseas next year.

· Margaret Smith, who became Margaret Court, became unbeatable soon afterwards, and went to to win a record 24 grand slam singles titles, the last one being the US Open in 1975.